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VOL. VI. MAY, 1897.
International Association
No.5
Training School Notes
and Association Outlook.
Pubhshed monthly during the School Year by_ the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School, Springfield,
Mass. Luther Gulick, Editor and Manager. Subscnption pnce, One Dollar per annum.
Entered a[ the Post Office, Springfield, Mass., as second-class mal! matter.
DURING THE PAST years we have had occasion
to examine the statistical reports for a num­ber
of organizations, churches, secular societies,
government reports and Young Men's Christian
associations. In this examination ,we have had no
cause for being ashamed of the reports of the asso­ciation
group, either as to definiteness, completeness
or accuracy. There have, however, been individual
cases which have shown a failure to comprehend the
object of a report on the one hand, and the nature
of fair statistical methods on the other.
The object of a report is to convey an impression
which shall correspond to the actual facts in the case.
Statistics are used to render this impression definite
and tangible. To so manipulate a report as to con­veyan
impression contrary to fact, and to so arrange
statistics that they shall hide the real facts, is as
reprehensible as any other form of falsification. A
report should be judged by its truthfulness, not by
the favorable impression it makes. A report that en­deavors
to make an impression different from what
one would get by actually seeing the work done, is a
deliberate lie.
A certain association once reported that seventy
young men had attended the morning and evening
prayer services per week in the association, a grand
total for the year of 3,744 young men spontane­ously
attending daily religious services. Further
facts were sought and found. The statistics given
were correct. The impression given was false. The
facts were that morning and evening prayers were
held daily. They were attended by the general
secretary, the physical director, the janitor, an old
gentleman who was always at the rooms, and an
average of one outside young man. This made a
total of five at each session.-Io per day, 70 per
week, 290 per month. This is a strongly marked
case of what we can find by looking over some files
of reports. The question to ask is "Is this pre­sented
in such a way as to show the actual facts, or
to give an impression that is contrary to fact?"
Another illustration from experience is as fol­lows:
An institution ran behind in its current ex­penses
because of an increase in the budget, but by
holding the books open for thirty days, and taking
all the money which usually came in during that
period for the next year, it was able to announce
that, in spite of the increased budget, the year had
been closed without deficit. The dishonesty here
was in including the receipts but not the expenses
of that month. On account of the favorable closing
of the previous year the next year the budget was
enlarged again. This time the books had to be
held open for three months. A glowing report was
then written, showing that in spite of the hard
times and a budget which was necessarily increasing,
the year had been closed free of deficit with a bal­ance
in the treasury. At the end of the next year,
with a deficit of several thousand dollars, an en­couraging
report was turned in showing that this
deficit was due to the fact that the expenses were
for twelve months, whereas the income was for only
nine months; that this income was larger for these
nine months than it had ever been before; and that
it was merely a question of adjusting the year-the
nine months to the twelve-which made it appear
that there was a deficit. The following year came
the crash. Here for four consecutive years the
management and others who had a right to know in
regard to the exact condition of the institution were
deceived and led into a course which they would not
have taken had they known the facts.
In reading this over to the president of one of
our most prominent a"sociations, the following inci­dent
was given to me: Five gentlemen representing
an association were on the way to a convention.
Their association was $1,600 in debt. They had
some pride in the matter and did not wish to report
this debt, so one gentleman agreed to raise $500,
another $400, another $200, another $300, another
$200, making the total of $1,600 and a small bal­ance
in the treasury. The report was given to the
convention that the association had all bills paid and
a balance in the treasury.
I have seen men who knew perfectly well what
the exact facts were in regard to their own associa­tion
but who, when they came to compiling the
statistics, became rapt in ecstasy and filled with
enthusiasm over the grand work which the statistics
proved to them they had been doing, in spite of the
evidence of their daily experience.
The question of honesty however, goes deeper
than that of reports.
Some associations have advertised that there is

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VOL. VI. MAY, 1897.
International Association
No.5
Training School Notes
and Association Outlook.
Pubhshed monthly during the School Year by_ the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School, Springfield,
Mass. Luther Gulick, Editor and Manager. Subscnption pnce, One Dollar per annum.
Entered a[ the Post Office, Springfield, Mass., as second-class mal! matter.
DURING THE PAST years we have had occasion
to examine the statistical reports for a num­ber
of organizations, churches, secular societies,
government reports and Young Men's Christian
associations. In this examination ,we have had no
cause for being ashamed of the reports of the asso­ciation
group, either as to definiteness, completeness
or accuracy. There have, however, been individual
cases which have shown a failure to comprehend the
object of a report on the one hand, and the nature
of fair statistical methods on the other.
The object of a report is to convey an impression
which shall correspond to the actual facts in the case.
Statistics are used to render this impression definite
and tangible. To so manipulate a report as to con­veyan
impression contrary to fact, and to so arrange
statistics that they shall hide the real facts, is as
reprehensible as any other form of falsification. A
report should be judged by its truthfulness, not by
the favorable impression it makes. A report that en­deavors
to make an impression different from what
one would get by actually seeing the work done, is a
deliberate lie.
A certain association once reported that seventy
young men had attended the morning and evening
prayer services per week in the association, a grand
total for the year of 3,744 young men spontane­ously
attending daily religious services. Further
facts were sought and found. The statistics given
were correct. The impression given was false. The
facts were that morning and evening prayers were
held daily. They were attended by the general
secretary, the physical director, the janitor, an old
gentleman who was always at the rooms, and an
average of one outside young man. This made a
total of five at each session.-Io per day, 70 per
week, 290 per month. This is a strongly marked
case of what we can find by looking over some files
of reports. The question to ask is "Is this pre­sented
in such a way as to show the actual facts, or
to give an impression that is contrary to fact?"
Another illustration from experience is as fol­lows:
An institution ran behind in its current ex­penses
because of an increase in the budget, but by
holding the books open for thirty days, and taking
all the money which usually came in during that
period for the next year, it was able to announce
that, in spite of the increased budget, the year had
been closed without deficit. The dishonesty here
was in including the receipts but not the expenses
of that month. On account of the favorable closing
of the previous year the next year the budget was
enlarged again. This time the books had to be
held open for three months. A glowing report was
then written, showing that in spite of the hard
times and a budget which was necessarily increasing,
the year had been closed free of deficit with a bal­ance
in the treasury. At the end of the next year,
with a deficit of several thousand dollars, an en­couraging
report was turned in showing that this
deficit was due to the fact that the expenses were
for twelve months, whereas the income was for only
nine months; that this income was larger for these
nine months than it had ever been before; and that
it was merely a question of adjusting the year-the
nine months to the twelve-which made it appear
that there was a deficit. The following year came
the crash. Here for four consecutive years the
management and others who had a right to know in
regard to the exact condition of the institution were
deceived and led into a course which they would not
have taken had they known the facts.
In reading this over to the president of one of
our most prominent a"sociations, the following inci­dent
was given to me: Five gentlemen representing
an association were on the way to a convention.
Their association was $1,600 in debt. They had
some pride in the matter and did not wish to report
this debt, so one gentleman agreed to raise $500,
another $400, another $200, another $300, another
$200, making the total of $1,600 and a small bal­ance
in the treasury. The report was given to the
convention that the association had all bills paid and
a balance in the treasury.
I have seen men who knew perfectly well what
the exact facts were in regard to their own associa­tion
but who, when they came to compiling the
statistics, became rapt in ecstasy and filled with
enthusiasm over the grand work which the statistics
proved to them they had been doing, in spite of the
evidence of their daily experience.
The question of honesty however, goes deeper
than that of reports.
Some associations have advertised that there is